Started working with spark, few questions...
deathshroud
Join Date: 2010-04-10 Member: 71291Members
Join Date: 2010-04-10 Member: 71291Members
in Mapping
1. when loading up the levels that came with ns2 like veil etc... Half the level tends to not show up at all. I load up other peoples levels to make sure im doing things correctly and to find certain textures that work well in combination so i can apply that sort of texture combination to objects i have created for my level.
Is there any way of making the whole level load up?
2. im used to hammer and the way leaks were always a problem, is it important to seal in your maps with spark or is this not needed?
3. can props makeup outside walls?
Is there any way of making the whole level load up?
2. im used to hammer and the way leaks were always a problem, is it important to seal in your maps with spark or is this not needed?
3. can props makeup outside walls?
Comments
Is there any way of making the whole level load up?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's because the different rooms are grouped in layers, and some of these layers are set to be invisible. Hit F7 to see the layers. You'll notice geometry, props, lighting, etc is grouped together per room. The eye icon on the layer sets visibility.
<!--quoteo(post=2056516:date=Jan 5 2013, 06:08 PM:name=deathshroud)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (deathshroud @ Jan 5 2013, 06:08 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2056516"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->2. im used to hammer and the way leaks were always a problem, is it important to seal in your maps with spark or is this not needed?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No leaks here, other than possibly showing parts of the map that you don't intend to if you've not sealed something off. Your map will run regardless.
<!--quoteo(post=2056516:date=Jan 5 2013, 06:08 PM:name=deathshroud)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (deathshroud @ Jan 5 2013, 06:08 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2056516"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->3. can props makeup outside walls?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You can place props inside or outside walls, it won't break your map.
It's a pretty refreshing change from Hammer, makes prototyping really easy.
If you are used to hammer I thought I would elaborate a bit here, pointing out the main differences. Hammer's compiling process involved several actions: BSP, VIS and RAD which you are surely familiar with.
Spark uses real time lighting.
Visibility is controlled by geometry set in a group named OcclusionGeometry. This will need to be set up down the road once your map is pretty much defined, enveloping the whole map. What is beyond an OcclusionGeometry face for a player will not be rendered.
Because these two process are either real-time or predefined by the mapper to be calculated real-time, and because spark doesn't uses brushes, there is no need to compile the bsp tree, and therefore there's no such thing as a leak, because spark doesn't care what's the ins or outs of a map.
Yet, it is surely better if the map is sealed by the OcclusionGeometry, for performance reasons once you start distributing the map. But it won't lead to errors if it is not. If there is no OcclusionGeometry, spark will render the whole map, which is not much of an issue in the building phase of a map, but essential for player's performance once distributed.
Basically, the OcculsionGeometry will be the seal, and so, this allows you to use props for the outside of walls from the player's perspective.
This makes me think of a last little detail. There is a skybox entity which defines which skybox you use. But no skybox texture. The skybox will be rendered past the OcclusionGeometry, so whenever the player is directly looking at this OcclusionGeometry group, what he will be seeing is the skybox.
Good Luck! and hope to see some of your productions soon! :)
No button, but if you just drag the movement gizmo (XYZ thingy) a tiny bit it will snap to the closest.